Reckless
by givemelovelikeklaroline
Summary: "Perhaps in a century..." It was a promise made between two people who found each other at the wrong time. But what happens when their deadline to try again comes along, and they're no longer the same people? Caroline surely isn't. Now Klaus can't decide if he wants to be seduced by her darkness or bring back her light. Based off Loved in Shades of Wrong & Who You Are Without Me.
1. I Had Given Up

**Here it is :) the final continuation of Loved in Shades of Wrong. Thank you so much to everybody who followed this story from the beginning and enjoyed Who You Are Without Me as well. This is the start of the last ten chapters of Klaus and Caroline's story as I have written them.**

**If you haven't read the previous parts, you could probably still follow this story relatively easily, as it is set a hundred years after the death of Carol. Some details have been changed, but nothing too big. I think.**

**More of the story will be explained in the second chapter, so bear with me. Rating may change later if it becomes necessary. **

**I hope you enjoy! **

_"We all get low,  
Searching for that peace of mind.  
Just when I had given up  
Looking for some kind of sign,  
That's when I found you..."_

Being the most feared creature on the planet had its perks. Nobody dared to question you, unless they wanted their head handed to them. And nobody dared defy you, unless they wanted their limbs handed to them. One-by-one, at an _excruciatingly_ slow pace.

Klaus tsked and shook his hands of the blood that had coated them, as he tossed the head of yet another poor fool who hadn't learned that lesson. He'd given him _one _ job_. _Find out who the new hunter was going about _his_ town, killing off _his_ people. And the halfwit fancied himself brave to question Klaus on his motives. _His last mistake._

The man behind him took out the handkerchief he had learned to carry for such occasions, and coughed subtly to remind his master of his presence.

"Thank you, Marcel," Klaus acknowledged him, taking the offered cloth.

"You know, it's a shame to see you lose yet another comrade, when there's already a hunter out there with marks on your backs," Klaus spoke to the mix of vampires and werewolves present to serve him. _Yes, _Klaus thought to himself, _being feared definitely has its perks._

While Klaus cleaned himself of the blood he had spilled, in what Marcel was sure he considered a civil kill, he reflected on the fact that the hunter seemed to be after Klaus, not them. The hunter seemed to only kill his lackeys to warn him of how close he was getting. But if there was one thing Marcel had learned in the past century with Klaus, it was when to keep silent.

"And let this be a lesson to the rest of you," Klaus continued, addressing the audience. "You are not here to question me. Your existence, if you value it, is only for you to serve me."

Tucking the bloodied handkerchief in Marcel's breast pocket, Klaus patted his friend's chest and said, "Now go out there and find this man that's hunting my people. Bring him to me alive."

Looking over his assembled army, Klaus got a faraway gleam in his eyes as he whispered, "I want to know what his blood tastes like as he realizes just whom he's messed with."

* * *

One problem swiftly dealt with, Klaus head back to the business he had been so rudely pulled from. Walking back into the building, he noticed that the club had filled up in his absence. _Excellent._

Up until a hundred years ago, Klaus had spent most of his life trying to break a curse and build himself a master race. Eventually, the curse was broken and the race was created.

Then the race died out. _Well_… they were slaughtered.

By him.

One could say he had a God-complex, the way he enjoyed being the one to give them life, only to take it away so brutally. After the disappointment over the rebellious species lifted, Klaus realized he liked it better this way. Being one of a kind. The master of all things that go bump in the night.

So he moved on. Instead of brooding over what he couldn't have, Klaus focused his energy on what he could have instead. He built himself an empire. In the human world… and the not-so-human world.

Year-by-year, decade-by decade, the world got darker by mankind's own making (and some of his). People chose to forget their despair by drinking and dancing themselves into oblivion. They would rather gorge on the unsanitary meals prepared by questionable barkeeps to avoid going home and facing their problems.

Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, Klaus decided if people were so very eager to sell their souls, he might as well take them for himself.

So he started a club of his own. Here, the remaining shells of humanity came to lose themselves in the insanity of music and alcohol. Having come of their own free will, their entrance fee would be paid at the end of the night, when desperate to feel something, _anything,_ his patrons would make their way downstairs to the club underground, where creatures of the night would feast on their life source.

Two businesses in one. A win-win.

Seeing that business was thriving, Klaus made his way to the bar underground. Nobody dared stop him in his way, but when he got to his usual stool he found a girl already seated there.

Even from a yard away, Klaus knew she was a vampire. Her legs crossed under a slinky silver dress that barely grazed her thighs. Her blonde hair was swept to the side to reveal the plunging back. Just seeing the back of her as she sipped her martini was enough to make Klaus pause in his tracks. But only for a second. _Caroline…_

He _yearned_ for the only girl to ever have such an unbreakable hold on him in all his eleven-hundred years. He sought her in the eyes of every vivacious young girl, in the smile of every brassy blonde. Part of him wanted to see her again just so he could rip her heart out and end the torture she had started in him. The other part of him wanted to find her again and never let her go this time.

Their century deadline had long since passed, and she still he hadn't come to him as he had hoped. Maybe it was time he went after her himself.

Looking now at the girl seated in front of him, Klaus sighed in frustration. _Not her, _he told himself.

Approaching her with a rising temper Klaus practically barked in her ear, "you're in the wrong seat, love."

Turning her head to face him, the girl lifted an audacious eyebrow and answered, "I'm sorry. Is this stool yours?"

Seeing the cheeky glint in her eyes, Klaus reinforced his scowl. "Yes. Now move."

Staring pointedly at the crowded bar, the girl turned a flirtatious smile back at Klaus, determined to crack his grouchy attitude.

"Well, tell you what, 'love,'" she said placing a caressing hand on his arm. "I'll give you this seat, if you're offering one a bit more… comfortable."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her bold move. A few years ago, he might have taken her up on her offer, but not tonight. For the past few years, he only craved one girl.

And she wasn't it.

Not caring who saw or how it would affect business, Klaus let go of his slight hold on civility and plunged his hand into her chest.

"Word of advice, sweetheart," Klaus said, as he squeezed the girl's heart in front of the crowd that had stopped to stare at the spectacle. "Next time, don't—"

"Next time!" Marcel came up behind Klaus, keeping him from killing a customer with a growing audience. Turning his charming smile on the crowd and his soothing voice on Klaus, Marcel continued, "let's let the girl go, so she can reevaluate her actions _for next time._"

Understanding that Marcel was just looking out for him, Klaus reluctantly let the girl go, and allowed Marcel to lead him back outside.

"Quite a show you put on there, boss-man," Marcel said in equal parts frustration and awe.

"Where did you come from?" Klaus growled, turning his irritated gaze on his protégé, as he took yet another clean cloth from him to wipe his bloody hands. "I thought I sent you to find the hunter?"

"You did," Marcel huffed. "I guess you're lucky I work fast, or you would have lost all the business you've built up these past few decades. Still got some damage control to do as it is."

Klaus ignored the last part as he realized what Marcel had said. "Did you find him? The hunter?"

Marcel held up his hands, "hold up there, man. I found something. Or rather, some_one. _She's not talking though."

"Take me to her."

Figuring Klaus would waste no time, Marcel led him out the city to the woods just beyond the edge of town. There his vampires held a girl captive kneeling on the ground, her hands tied in front of her. Hearing their approach, the girl looked up and gasped. "_You."_

"Me," Klaus said, walking around her, observing the frail human girl that would lead him to the hunter. "I thought you said she wasn't talking?"

Marcel rolled his eyes at the amused look Klaus threw at him. "She wasn't. We found her running through the forest. When I caught her she just whispered 'need to run, run from one monster to another,' and then she was silent. Wouldn't answer me when I asked who she was running from. Wouldn't answer anything at all."

Klaus heard the bitterness in Marcel's tone that the girl responded at the sight of him, but not Marcel. Circling the girl once again, just for intimidation's sake, Klaus crouched in front of the girl and gripped her chin. "Are you scared, sweetheart?"

As if the uncontrollable trembling of her body wasn't enough of a tell, the girl nodded slowly.

"Good. That tells me you're a smart girl. A smart girl does everything she can to survive."

Letting go of her face, Klaus took out a pocket knife and flicked it to cut the ropes holding her hands tied. "Uh-uh," he admonished when he saw the girl contemplating making a run for it. "You know you wouldn't make it out of the woods alive."

"I wasn't going to run," the girl said, becoming calmer by the second.

_As if she's accepting her doomed fate._ "Weren't you?"

"No," the girl replied firmly. "You're the other monster."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her declaration. "Who's the other?"

When the girl refused to answer, Klaus stood up in exasperation. "Come on! We all know this wood is the hunter's haunt. To be running around here, you must be either foolish or working with the hunter. So tell me," he said, lifting the girl to her feet. "Where is the hunter?!"

The girl stared at some spot over his shoulder as she replied, "closer than you think. Just remember, this is what you wanted. What you asked for."

Then the girl froze.

"What do you mean, this is what I asked for?" At first Klaus couldn't figure out what the girl was doing. Shaking the girl to get her to respond to him, he realized the girl had stopped breathing.

"Breathe!" he yelled, trying to compel her, but she wouldn't listen. _Vervain._

That was enough to raise his hackles. Vervain had been banned from this county years ago. He made sure to remove any and all traces of the herb himself.

"What's going on?" Marcel asked from behind him.

"She's been compelled…" Klaus whispered, banking his fury. The hunter was working with a vampire? And he wasn't just killing his people. He was breaking all his rules.

Blatantly provoking Klaus. It was enough to make him see red.

The girl dropped dead in front of him. Klaus's mind moved past her as he strode out of the woods, leaving Marcel and the others to do the clean up behind him.

He was almost out of the woods, conjuring images of just how he would make the hunter suffer for having the nerve to target him, when he heard a sound a few yards away.

Holding himself very still, Klaus was able to pinpoint the sound of dripping liquid as the smell of freshly fallen blood assailed his senses. _Gotcha._

Speeding through the woods, Klaus came upon another dead body. He didn't need to turn it over to know it was yet another one of his people. His eyes closed in disappointment, but only for a second.

Looking around, he hollered. "You've gotten sloppy. Or perhaps arrogance was your downfall. You thought I'd never catch you, but here we are. Almost too easy.

Looking down at the fallen vampire at his feet, Klaus vowed to get revenge for all his vampires and werewolves the hunter had taken from him. But looking at the body, he noticed something. Bite marks. _What on Earth…Bite marks, compulsion... The hunter was a vampire?_

"Maybe I wanted to be caught."

_That voice._ He'd never forget it. He heard it every night as it called to him in his dreams.

Turning in the direction it came from, Klaus stared disbelievingly at the blonde girl in front of him. Still as beautiful as ever. The sight of her still triggered the adrenaline coursing through his body. With blood, _his vampire's blood_, dripping down her chin, he still wanted her with an intensity he couldn't match in the past century.

"Hello, Klaus."

"Caroline…" he breathed. "_You're the hunter?_"

**Okay, let me just say how nervous I am about this story. Although I like dark Klaroline, I'm not sure I'm capable of writing it well enough to do them justice :/ Let me know how you like it!**

**Also, I need help. I cannot for the life of me come up with a name for Klaus's club, so if you've got suggestions, leave them in the reviews! I was thinking of going with The Original Sin, but it seemed too contrived. But contrived is better than nothing lol.  
**

**Like I said in the last one-shot, all the old characters of TVD will be back in this story. Marcel won't really be a big part of this story. He was just a convenient name lol.**

**So now review, please! Did you like it? Hate it? Should I have just left this story as it was?**

**Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last one-shot! You convinced me to continue :)**

**And follow me on tumblr: givemelovelikeklaroline**

**P.S. I'm going to try and make a cover for this fic, but I'm not the best at that stuff, so if any of you know how to make fic posters, or know someone who can, I'd really appreciate the help!**


	2. Can We Start Again?

**I love you, people :) Old readers and new readers, some of you seem confused as to the timeline of this story, so let me try to summarize it real quick: **

**Loved in Shades of Wrong was set in the week following the Hybrid Massacre & Carol's death. In the end Klaus leaves Caroline for... well, reasons lol. **

**Who You Are Without Me was a series of five one-shots that occurred within the next century they spent apart, where they sometimes bumped into each other.**

**This story is set a little more than a century after they first parted (after Loved in Shades of Wrong). **

**Make sense now? I hope so :/**

_"The night is getting older,  
And I can't come off this high.  
I don't want this here to end.  
I know she feels the same,  
Because I can see it in her eyes.  
She says, 'Can we start again?'"_

Towering over him, perched on a fallen tree, Caroline stood staring down at him with a regality she wore like a glove. The power and authority in her stance surprised him, but in a way that made his blood sing. Klaus had to curl his fingers into his palm to keep from reaching out for her.

"The surprise in your tone offends me," she said narrowing her eyes and pouting her lips.

"What if I said the surprise was a pleasant one?" Klaus countered as she hopped off the tree and stalked up to him.

Stopping a foot away, Caroline brought a well-manicured fingertip up to stab at his chest. "Well then, I'd call you a liar."

Letting a slow smile grace her lips, Caroline looked up at him through her lashes. "About damn time you found me. I was worried I'd have to resort to something… a bit more drastic," she said, throwing a significant look over at his dead vampire.

Trying to ignore the jolt that ran through him from her slightest touch, Klaus raised an eyebrow and wondered just what she would consider more drastic than feeding off her own kind. "You live off vampire blood now, love?"

Caroline shook her head at him in amusement. "I live off blood. Period. I'm not discriminative over whose. Best way to live, wouldn't you say?"

Unable to keep his hands to himself any longer, Klaus encircled her wrist and pulled her hand away from his body. "A little too cannibalistic for my taste, sweetheart."

Flexing the hand he held securely, Caroline let out the same innocent giggle he often recalled when he thought of her. Or tried not to think of her. "Surely, you enjoy the irony in that statement, don't you Klaus?"

Mentally rolling his eyes at her sass, Klaus couldn't help but let slip a small smile at the boldness she exuded. It was a stark difference to the girl he left behind all those years ago. That girl was bold, sure, but the boldness was a mask that hid her fear. This girl, however, was bold because she had no fear.

Certainly not of him. But he wanted to test that theory out anyway.

Grasping the fingers of the free hand she had brought up to tease the collar of his jacket, Klaus twisted her arm behind her back to propel her body flush against his. "I believe you remember all the… vices I enjoy, sweetheart. Or shall I remind you?"

Caroline gasped. But not out of fear. _Anticipation?_

Trying not to get too caught up in his own scheme, and failing miserably, Klaus released her wrists to place his hands on her hips. Kneading the flesh under his fingers, he allowed himself to feel the exhilaration of having her again.

He never forgot the last time they happened to cross paths. He had been out surveying one of his many businesses that Caroline just happened to be frequenting that night. It was purely coincidental, but that hadn't kept him from seizing the opportunity.

He had seduced her into a writhing mass of limbs wrapped around him in a matter of moments. But Caroline had her own plans. Turning his chest into her own canvas, she bit into his skin to let blood drip freely like red paint down his body, while her tongue traced spiral patterns through it.

After getting his body worked up enough to need completion or death, Caroline abandoned him sprawled alone in dark-lit room. With the marks of her fangs fading from his chest, Klaus was left to wonder if there was a woman on Earth quite like Caroline Forbes.

This time he wouldn't wonder. He already knew. There was no other woman for him. Klaus wanted Caroline. And this time he would have her.

With her hands now free, Caroline trailed her fingers up his chest to rest against the column of his neck. "Oh, I remember everything."

Raising herself on her tip toes, she whispered enticingly in his ear, "But you're about to find out all the vices _I've_ learned to enjoy since you last demonstrated your… needs."

Digging his fingers just a little more roughly into her skin, Klaus corrected her. "Want, Caroline. This is a _want_. I don't _need_ you. I simply _want_ you."

Displeased with his attitude, Caroline pulled away, removing the contact that left his body buzzing. "Uh-uh-uh," Caroline admonished. "I thought I told you last time, this is no longer your game, Klaus. It's mine. And look at how well you played right into it. Let's not break our streak now."

Irritated by her elusiveness, Klaus growled as he reached for her again. "No more games, Caroline. It's been long enough…"

But Caroline stepped out of his reach again. "Lesson number one, Klaus. I like to play games. Thrill of the chase and all that," she said, walking around him.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she leaned in to say, "But you're right. It's been long enough. And I have needs, too."

Klaus had enough of her toying with him. Turning around, he intended to latch on to her again, but she anticipated his movement and zoomed out of reach.

Looking around, Klaus spotted her in a clearing by the open road, out of the woods.

"I think we had a date?" she called out to him. "_'Perhaps in a century'_ was what you said, if I remember correctly."

Klaus narrowed his eyes and wondered just what the hell she was up to.

"Sorry it took me so long. I just… couldn't decide what to wear," she shrugged, offering him a radiant smile that almost had him forgiving her antics.

Almost.

She was playing with him, he knew. What she didn't know was that Klaus had mastered every game known to mankind in his eleven-hundred years. They could play this out, but inevitably Klaus would win.

He always did.

In the end, Klaus always got what he wanted.

* * *

Caroline marched away from the woods, knowing Klaus followed her a few steps behind. She hadn't built up the façade of The Hunter by accident. She had surreptitiously been exploring the town she found Klaus settled in, and found out just how to get to him and when.

So she knew he was surprised when she led him straight to his bar. "Someone's been doing their research, I see," Klaus said from behind her.

Walking backwards to face him, she explained, "I always loved playing hide-and-seek, but I hated the hiding part. The wait to be found was _so boring._ But since you didn't do a very good job of hiding, I figured it was my turn, so I kept busy while I waited for you to find me."

Stopping at the back entrance that led straight to the bar underneath, Caroline crossed her arms and taunted, "Took you long enough. In the meantime, I found out everything there is to know about you."

Klaus glared at her for a moment, before he sped up to grab the lapels of her coat. "You'd like to think so, wouldn't you?"

Raising her eyes at his brashness, Caroline wrapped her fingers around his and leaned up to whisper, "I know so."

The two remained locked in a battle of stares, until the door opened behind her and pushed Caroline a step closer into Klaus's arms.

"Oops. Sorry," the girl exiting the bar mumbled. "I didn't mean to—_oh_," the girl stopped mid-sentence.

Klaus looked over to see the girl he had almost relieved of a heart earlier in the evening. The one who reminded him of Caroline.

Seeing her now, Klaus didn't know how he could ever mistake the two. The girl couldn't hold a candle to his Caroline. Klaus snarled in disgust.

The blonde girl didn't miss the look. Looking over at Caroline, whose hands had slid up his chest to brace herself from falling, she gave Caroline a pitying look.

"Word of advice, girlfriend, don't bother with this one," she said in a mock whisper. "We're not his type."

Caroline blinked slowly at the girl. Letting go of her hold on Klaus, she turned to face the poor blonde who had no idea who she was talking to.

"Okay, A," Caroline spoke slowly, as if the girl was stupid, _which she obviously was,_ "I'm not your _girlfriend_, you pathetic waste of immortality."

Klaus's eyebrows went up, amused at how Caroline was handling the situation.

"And B," she continued, plunging her hand into her chest in much the same manner Klaus had done earlier. "_Excuse. You."_

She punctuated the last word by pulling out the girl's heart only to drop it onto her listless body as it fell in front of her.

And now Klaus was impressed. _That's my girl._

"I see you've still got your flair for dramatics, love," he said, letting his approval seep into his tone.

"Yeah, well," she huffed, upset at the blood now coating her hand, "Some things don't change after all."

Klaus kept his smirk to himself, as he reached into his back pocket to pull out one of the many handkerchiefs Marcel had handed to him over the years for much the same reasons.

Caroline took it from him, giving him a sideways glance, annoyed that the girl had caused her to lose her cool when she was determined not to. "So, that killed my mood for a party," Caroline said, as she finished wiping her hands. "Where to now?"

He couldn't keep his smirk to himself this time as he asked, "You're allowing me to lead again?"

Narrowing her eyes, she warned, "Don't get used to it."

The smirk turned into a chuckle as he widened his eyes in mock fear, "wouldn't dream of it."

Keeping his amused eyes on her mutinous glare, Klaus pulled out his cell phone and spoke to Marcel as he answered promptly. "I've got a mess for you to clean up outside the back entrance. And before you roll your eyes at my deplorable behavior to my clientele, I'd just like to inform you I didn't do it."

Grabbing on to Caroline's wrist, he added, "But I know who did, and I assure you I have the responsible party apprehended. In fact, you can call off the search party as well. Thank them for their service, but it's no longer needed until further notice."

Klaus felt his blood simmer in anticipation of when Caroline would let lose the volatile emotion he could see building inside her as she struggled in his hold.

"Oh, and Marcel," he said, before he ended the call. "I'd suggest you rest up tonight. You're going to need all the energy you've got, if you want to teach our favorite hunter lessons in civility that have been wasted on me."

Ending the call, Klaus halted her resistance to his hold with a tilt of his head. "I played your game of hide-and-seek, sweetheart. Now, it's time you indulge me in mine."

Pulling her against his side, he explained, "It's one of my favorites. I believe you'll learn to enjoy it. It's called Follow the Leader."

Caroline didn't miss the emphasis he put on the word _leader_ as Klaus sped into the town, forcing her to follow behind him or have her arm ripped from its socket.

* * *

He brought her to his house. Which was always such a tame word in reference to Klaus.

This place, much like the one all those years ago in Mystic Falls, was a palace. She even noticed the similarities in the structure, both inside and out. She wouldn't be surprised if he had an architect make this place as almost an exact replica of that one.

Klaus never did anything half way. In fact, she could swear he enjoyed living in such large mansions all alone. He probably pretended it was his castle in his kingdom.

"My kingdom? Yes. But a castle? No. Though I do have a few of those as well, if you're interested."

Caroline hadn't realized she spoke her musings out loud. "No, thank you. I'll get one for myself when I feel the need," she replied nonchalantly, exuding her independence of him.

Klaus merely raised an eyebrow at her reply, seeing The Hunter's façade going back up with every haughty tilt of her head.

"We can get back to your games in a second, Caroline," he said, moving into a sitting room that held a well-stocked liquor cabinet. "But first I need an answer as to what you're really here for."

Handing her a glass of scotch where she stood looking out the window, he asked, "business or pleasure?"

Allowing her fingers to lightly graze his, Caroline took the glass and brought it up to her lips before answering, "Lesson number two, I've learned to be efficient over the years. I can manage both at once."

Grabbing his own drink, Klaus took a seat and stared up at her, wanting her to know this new demeanor didn't rattle him one bit as she seemed to hope.

"Let's not kid ourselves, sweetheart," he said condescendingly. "You were always efficient, that's nothing new. And while I don't doubt you talent of multi-tasking, I'd prefer you be less evasive and answer my question, before I get tired of indulging you and resort to forcing my answers out of you."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at his high-handedness. Throwing back her drink, she flung the empty glass at Klaus. He caught it with his free hand as Caroline sped forward to wrap her hands around his throat.

Bringing her face within an inch of his, she breathed, "And I'd prefer it if you stop pretending to know who I am. You said it yourself when you left me all those years ago. I needed to explore the darkness and decide if I wanted to change on my own."

Seeing the muscle in his jaw jump in infuriation at letting her get the upper hand for once, Caroline released him, satisfied that she had gotten her point across. Settling into the seat beside him, she finished, "You expected me to change, Klaus. So don't be surprised, now that I have."

Klaus turned his head to study her hard look. Taking a sip of his drink, he considered her words.

_I may have _expected_ you to change, but I'm no longer sure if I_ wanted_ that,_ he thought to himself.

But out loud he just said, "You're right, love. I did expect you to change. Allow me some time to adjust to it, though."

Her brow creased in suspicion of his easy acceptance, but her face softened as she leaned back.

Klaus continued his study of her as she tilted her head back onto the couch and closed her eyes. _She's weary…_ he noticed. _This new attitude—this toughness—is taking a toll on her._

Watching her recuperate her strength to go back to being the no-holds-barred Caroline she had become, Klaus mentally formed a plan.

_I'm going to solve the mystery she has become, one way or another,_ he promised himself.

"So what's a girl got to do to get a room around here?" she asked with a smile as she opened her eyes to face him.

All pretenses aside, Klaus said the one honest thing he could offer her, "What's mine is yours, Caroline. Always has been."

Caroline's smile fell at the serious look on his face. Trying to lighten the mood, unable to take on the heavy implications of his words, she sniped back, "Even your kingdom?" reminding him of his earlier words.

He could see her trying to shy away from how seriously he took their… _situation,_ but couldn't keep himself from offering the world to her anyway. It's what he always did and apparently, always will do, much to his chagrin.

"I can't rule without a queen."

Caroline's eyes flickered at the intensity of his words. Watching her chew on her lip, Klaus had the satisfaction of catching a momentary glimpse of the girl he once knew. _There she is! She's not completely changed. She's still in there._

But as his heart lifted at the sight, something inside him twisted with the realization that he enjoyed this new Caroline just as much as he missed the old one.

While he mused over this, Caroline composed herself enough to joke, "careful, Klaus. Greater men have lost their kingdom to women. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Consider me warned, sweetheart. But you seriously need to adjust your definition of the word '_greater_,'" he volleyed back at her.

Satisfied that they seemed to be past their heavy conversation, she asked again with a smile, "so which room is mine?"

Klaus led her upstairs into an elegantly decorated room, not that she expected any less from him. Seeing the dresser and the closet, Caroline was reminded of the way he had prepared for her last stay with him. Klaus watched as she walked over to the doors of the closet with a nostalgic smile.

Like the first time, Caroline let out a gasp at the sight inside. It was filled with clothes, all in her size from what she could tell. Looking over her shoulder, she gave Klaus a questioning look.

"I had been anticipating your arrival," he said with a shrug.

"For how long?" she asked incredulously.

Klaus stared at her silently, not wanting to let on just how long he'd been waiting for her.

"Klaus," she said on a weary sigh as she closed the closet doors.

Collapsing on the bed, she stared at the ceiling as she spoke to him. "You keep assuming too much."

For some reason, the resistance she kept putting up finally made him snap. "I'm assuming enough," he said walking up to the bed to stare down at her.

Raising herself on her elbows, Caroline glared at him. "No! You're assuming you know me. That you know who I am. As if I'm the same girl you left behind, and now a hundred and something years later, we can just pick up where we left off—"

"We can!" he interrupted her tirade.

"_No._ We can't," she snapped back, her chest heaving with pent up anger.

Pursing his lips, Klaus narrowed his eyes at her, as she continued to glare daggers at him.

Silence fell in the room as they both stewed in their anger, until quietly, Klaus asked, "then why are you here, Caroline?"

Closing her eyes, Caroline took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, he could see The Hunter was back. "For you, Klaus. For us. You promised me in a century. I'm here to collect."

Walking up to him, she draped her arms over his shoulders and leaned in. "It wasn't the right time back then. We weren't the right people. But maybe we are now. What's stopping us from finding out?"

Klaus didn't agree with her words about not being the right people, but it was all semantics.

"Nothing," he answered honestly.

Caroline smiled at getting the answer she was looking for. "Exactly. This is our time. Let's ride it out, you and I."

Klaus smiled in return. Pulling out of the circle of her arms, he said, "You're right, sweetheart. Nobody's to stop us this time. But it's been an eventful night, so I'll leave you to get some rest."

Pulling the door closed behind him, he said, "We'll catch up in the morning."

"Klaus," she stopped him before he could make his exit. "You might just like the new me."

Klaus nodded once as he shut the door, saying, "I don't doubt it, love."

And he didn't. He already did like the new Caroline who seemed to be ready for anything. She seemed to live life a bit more fully, not shying away from the unknown. She would fit in more perfectly in his world now.

But it was her obvious abhorrence of the past that worried him. He didn't understand why she was so adverse to the topic and who they had been when they met. Almost as if she was running from it.

Where he had spent the past years cherishing their moments, she seemed to be wiping them out of her memory.

_But why?_ He asked himself.

He needed answers and knew of only one other person who could provide them.

Pulling out his phone, he tapped out a message requesting an audience.

'_You've held out on me, Ripper. It's time to shed some light on just what has become of Miss Mystic Falls, Caroline Forbes.'_

**Next chapter: Stefan! I'm so excited to write him again :) You're going to find out just what happened to Caroline and everyone else from Mystic Falls.**

**But I'm also writing a Bamon fanfic at the same time now, and I might put up some Klaroline drabbles for Klaroline Writing Week on my tumblr, so I don't know when I'll be able to update this again :( just keep nagging me, and I'll get on it!**

**Also, I made a cover to this fic! Hope you guys like it. I'm not so satisfied with it, so it'll probably change at some point lol.**

**AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, how did you guys like the chapter?! Good? Bad? Do you like this Caroline? Don't like her? Care to speculate what happened to her? Care to speculate which Caroline Klaus prefers?**

**REVIEW, please and thank you!**

**Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. You guys absolutely light up my life. No joke. I appreciate it all more than you know!**

**And follow me on tumblr: givemelovelikeklaroline.**


	3. In the Dark

**There is no excuse. I can only apologize for how late this is. I hope this chapter makes up for it! This one also goes out to the anon on tumblr who would not let me forget about this story! I finally updated :)**

_"She wants me to come over,_  
_I can tell. Her eyes don't lie._  
_She's calling me in the dark..."_

Klaus paced furiously back and forth in front of the fireplace in his sitting room, drink in hand. Having ordered an audience with his old friend, Klaus was not able to settle his nerves until Stefan told him everything he needed to know concerning a certain blond beauty, who was currently tucked into a bed just down the hall from his.

Knocking back his fifth drink in the past half hour, Klaus threw the glass into the fireplace to keep himself from pouring another. With an agitated growl, he dropped down onto the nearest seat and buried his face in his hands, running his fingers agitatedly through his hair.

Something was not right with this Caroline, and he wouldn't rest easy until he knew what it was that changed her.

Not being one for patience, waiting on Stefan to arrive was sure to drive him insane. Nothing ever rattled him to the point of madness before. _Why am I surprised that even after all this time only Caroline could affect me so?_ Klaus asked himself.

Stefan wasn't due to arrive until early morning, and it was only 1 A.M. Deciding sleep would be a better way to pass the time, Klaus strode up to his room, determined to ignore the presence of the girl who slept soundly only a few doors down.

Walking into his room, Klaus pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on a chair in the corner. Without bothering to pull back the covers, he fell back onto the king sized bed that dominated the room and kicked off his shoes. Resting on the arm he pulled behind his head, Klaus willed his mind to empty as he counted the portraits on his wall.

He had almost managed to let go of his chaotic thoughts, but the second she walked through his open door, it was like all his nerve endings were on fire.

"I was wondering when you would come upstairs," she said, sashaying in wearing a satin peach robe he had picked out for her. He had imagined seeing her in all the outfits as he purchased them, but Klaus hadn't taken into account the effect they would have on him when all he could do was look.

"I was starting to think I'd have to come down and get you."

Even in the darkness of the room, Klaus could see the dangerous glint in her eyes as she crawled over him on the bed.

"Caroline, love," he said, pausing to clear his suddenly tightening throat. "What are you doing here?"

Sitting up on his lap, Caroline cocked her head to the side as she stared at him in amusement.

"Klaus, please. We both know what I'm doing here. We both knew what was going to happen the moment you found me."

Caroline bent towards his face, causing her hair to fall down around them like a curtain.

"We both have wanted this for far too long," she whispered.

Klaus couldn't deny any of her claims. But he knew he needed to stop her.

"Yes, well, I've become a fan of delayed gratification, sweetheart. I'm sure we can hold out long enough to… get reacquainted," he said sitting up to force her off his body.

But Caroline wasn't giving up.

"Oh, come on Klaus. I think we've wondered long enough. Let's find out just how mind-numbingly explosive we'll be," she said straddling his lap again.

Klaus gripped her hips to keep her from moving. "You're telling me you've imagined this? Us?"

The slow smile that spread across her lips had Klaus faltering in his convictions against giving in to her.

"Are you going to tell me _you _haven't?"

All playfulness left Klaus's eyes as he studied her, wondering how much he should reveal to her. Deciding to give her some of his heart, if not all of it, he admitted, "A thousand years, Caroline. I went a thousand years caring only of myself. And then without meaning to— without _wanting_ to, I found you. All of the sudden I wanted so much more with you than I had ever wanted for myself before. I never wanted love, but with you I craved it. I never wanted to spend forever waking up next to the same person, to spend forever roaming this endless world, but for the past hundred years, I've wanted it all. And I've wanted it with you. So yes, Caroline, I have thought about it. Even in the arms of other women, all I've thought about is _you."_

Klaus felt Caroline stiffen underneath his fingertips with every word out of his mouth until she was as still as a statue. He knew she didn't want to hear what he had to say—that she wanted to continue on playing her game and leave it light, but he couldn't give her what she wanted. Not anymore. He felt as if the past hundred years were a game, and he had been losing.

Caroline stared at him, unmoving, until he thought he'd have to shake her out of it. But then that deceptively sweet smile was back as she lifted herself onto her knees over his lap, tugging on the sash that held her robe closed.

"Other women, huh?" she asked letting the robe fall open to reveal the silken skin Klaus dreamt about day in and out. "Sounds like you're trying to make me jealous… but then I know you know I've been in the arms of other men, so I guess we're even."

Klaus knew there had been others, but he didn't know how Caroline had truly felt about them. Were they passing whims, like they were for him? Distractions keeping them from whom they really wanted?

Or were they more? There had never been another for him, before or after Caroline. But Caroline had loved before him. Did she ever find love after him? He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to the questions plaguing his mind.

Leaning down, Caroline whispered into his ear. "But I'll let you in on a little secret," she said, reminding him of a similar moment they once had in her bed. "All those other guys… every once in a while, I'd imagine they were you."

Feeling his breath leave him with a shudder, Klaus growled with a hint of warning. "Caroline."

"Klaus," she mocked back, parting her robe even more, daring him to make a move.

For a moment, Klaus just sat there with a scantily clad Caroline hovering over him like a dream, trying like hell to fight the alpha-male inside him that needed to take what she was offering. And then he moved.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, Klaus swiftly rolled until Caroline was underneath him. His hands slipped under the robe to touch the girl he had missed for the past hundred years. Burying his face in her neck Klaus inhaled her scent.

He had forgotten how intoxicating it was. It had slowly been slipping from his memory. But she was here now, and he would never lose it again, he told himself placing his lips on her collarbone.

Pressing heated kisses on their way, Klaus trailed his lips up to hers. Giving her bottom lip a teasing bite, Klaus moved his mouth back down to her neck, unable to decide where to start. Remembering the last time they had been this close to each other, he smiled, allowing his teeth to graze her soft skin.

Caroline had been smiling as Klaus explored her body, enjoying the sensation of having the real thing replace her lacking dreams. She had waited for this moment longer than he could imagine. No other guy was able to coax the explosive response from her that Klaus managed to do so effortlessly. It had been a long wait to get to this moment, and Caroline was going to relish every second.

But then she felt his teeth against her neck. All of the memories of him piercing her skin and feeding from her came rushing back with a force that had her digging her heels into the mattress as her body strained up to meet his.

"_Please_…_Klaus…_" she moaned, needing him to make her feel that way again; the feeling of being so connected to someone that you don't know where one begins and the other ends.

That soft, breathy sound of his name was enough to bring Klaus crashing back to his senses. Pausing his fingers on their way down her belly, he stiffened for a moment before pushing himself up and off her warm and more-than-willing body.

Caroline sat up to watch him pull out a sketch pad and pencil from the table set up across the room from the bed.

"What the hell, Klaus?" she asked, thoroughly confused at his retreat.

"My apologies, love," he said with his back to her, as he flipped through the pages. "I didn't mean to get so carried away with you there. Seems I'm unable to keep my wits about me with you near."

Looking over his shoulder at her beautifully rumpled body, he added softly, "but you knew that already, didn't you?"

Caroline fell back onto his pillows with a frustrated groan. Staring at his ceiling she wondered where she could get her hands on a white oak stake and put an end to the original idiot who couldn't appreciate a girl who practically threw herself at him.

"_Seriously_?!"

Klaus smiled to himself, finding amusement in her predicament, as he got himself comfortable in the armchair that faced the bed.

"What are you doing now?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.

"Indulging in a hobby that _doesn't_ test my sanity."

Caroline smirked, loving the fact that she was getting to him. If she had to suffer, then it was only fair that he was just as tormented. "Sketching another masterpiece?"

His eyes roved her soft, flush body. "Something like that."

At the questioning quirk of her eyebrow, Klaus sighed. "I want to draw you, Caroline."

"Draw me? I thought that's all you ever did," she said, reminding him of his words from many years ago.

"_Where have you been, huh, Klaus? Out painting one of you infinite landscapes?" _she had asked in anger of his abandonment.

"_You," _Klaus had replied_. "For the past six years, all I've painted is you."_

"Yes," he answered her now. "But it was always from memory. My memory doesn't compare to the real thing."

He saw her eyes soften at his words. "Will you sit for me?"

Klaus watched as she pondered his words. Truth was, drawing her would be as much a distraction for her as it was for him. He could tell she had no intention of leaving his room, so he could only try to divert her until Stefan came. Then he'd know for sure what he was getting in to with this Caroline.

Coming up to the front of the bed to be closer to him, Caroline stood on her knees and plunged her hands into her hair, lifting them into a mess curls above her head.

"How do you want me?" she asked, her eyes dancing with mischief.

Klaus knew she was trying to entice him into taking what he was so eager to claim earlier, but he was having none of it.

"Just relax, Caroline. This will take a while, so I want you to be comfortable. Lie down."

Seeing there was no deterring him, Caroline huffed and flopped onto her belly. Cushioning her head on her arms, she turned to him with a small pout. "Good enough?"

"Perfect," he answered without looking up at her from his sketchbook.

Her pout grew, seeing how thoroughly she was being ignored. She was supposed to have the upper hand this time around, but it seems Klaus always managed to get his way.

The entire time he had spent pacing downstairs, Caroline had been playing over the last time she got to be so close to him. It had seemed as if it was finally their time, but he had reminded her of how he had been the one to walk away. It made her that much more determined that the next time they came together it would be all on her terms.

But here she was: lying in a pool of silk on his bed, and he wasn't even looking at her. He would glance at her from time to time, but his eyes were glued to what he was creating on paper.

Caroline decided if he wasn't going to notice a willing woman in his bed, then she might as well take the opportunity to check him out. He sat there bare-foot, bare-chested, his brows drawn together as he concentrated on the lines on his paper. Her eyes raked down the defined muscles on his chest, down to the open buttons of his slacks. Buttons that she had opened just moments ago, as his mouth tasted her skin.

Feeling herself get worked up gain, her eyes flew back to his face. Caroline narrowed her eyes in annoyance that her stare had no effect on him.

"You're looking at me like an object," she complained.

Klaus gave her a knowing look, before going back to his drawing. "Because if I looked at you any other way, love, I wouldn't be able to stay in my seat for much longer."

A satisfied smile curved her lips as she tossed her head, flipping her hair over her other shoulder, before resting back onto her arms.

Eventually, Caroline fell asleep to the sound of Klaus's pencil flying across his page. He knew the exact moment it happened. His body finally loosened the muscles that had been braced for a battle with the girl.

Taking a deep breath, Klaus closed the sketch that he had finished an hour ago. He had just been biding his time, hoping she'd fall asleep before morning came, bringing Stefan along with it. He walked to the bed and pulled the covers over a soundly sleeping Caroline. Lifting a curl that had fallen over her face, Klaus realized this was probably the least guarded he'd see her for a while.

He needed Stefan to tell him what had changed Caroline so much. What had made her so calculated? What caused her to give in so deeply to the bloodlust she had kept carefully controlled?

And why was she playing games with him, when she herself admitted they had waited long enough? He wanted Caroline with no strings, no trap doors he could fall through. Only after he knew everything would he be able to give in to her as he had longed to do.

As he slipped his arms into a button up shirt, Klaus heard a sound of footsteps downstairs. Without bothering to close his buttons, he sped down to confront the intruder. Before he could blink, Klaus had the man in his drawing room pushed up against the wall with his hand around the man's throat.

Recognition kicked in, but Klaus gave one more threatening squeeze before removing his hand.

"About time, Ripper."

Stefan rubbed his throat, annoyance clear on his face. "Hello, to you too."

Walking up to his liquor cabinet, Klaus poured himself scotch to calm his nerves as he braced himself to hear the whole story.

"You'll excuse me for skipping the pleasantries, seeing as how you know I only care about one thing, and that one thing is sleeping in my… _upstairs_," he amended. "And you seem to have information on her you've kept from me all these years. I'd like to know what you know, and why haven't you told me?"

Stefan laughed humorlessly. "And how would that conversation have gone? _'Oh hey, Klaus! Caroline's spiraling. P.S. sorry I dumped your sister?'_"

At his words, Klaus remembered why he hadn't spoken to Stefan in a long time. The last he had heard of him was when Rebekah had come to visit him, bags in tow, saying Stefan had left her for Elena. It didn't concern him, but Klaus felt a responsibility in taking care of her in his own terms. He had sent a werewolf to bite Stefan, then give him a vial of his blood at the last minute, letting him know there would be no saving him if he ever came near one his own again.

"Ah, yes. How is our favorite doppelganger?"

"She's none of your business," Stefan snapped at him. Then, needing to know for his own conscience, he asked softly, "how's Rebekah?"

"She's none of your business," Klaus replied in kind. "You're here to ease my curiosity over another girl, mate. So let us stick to business at hand."

Pouring his one-time friend a drink for old time's sake, Klaus turned to him. "What happened to her, Stefan?"

Taking the drink from Klaus's outstretched hand, Stefan sighed. "There was nothing I could do, Klaus. If I couldn't help her, what makes you think you could have?"

"Maybe if I had known what was happening…"

But Stefan shook his head. Dropping on to an armchair by the fireplace, he wondered where to start the story.

"She's turned off her humanity."

Klaus sat with a thud, his worst fears confirmed. Without her humanity, she wasn't the Caroline he fell for. The one who had started to fall for him.

"Why?" he asked hoarsely.

Stefan studied Klaus's hard features, knowing the truth was going to enrage him.

"As vampires, we don't notice time, because we don't age. Humans do. Bonnie slowed down her aging to reflect our ages, but she couldn't slow down Jeremy's aging. So eventually, he died."

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Stefan wondered, "I would have thought Rebekah told you all this when she told you about us."

_I didn't ask_, Klaus wanted to say. But he realized that was his fault. He didn't care about the lives of others, so he never bothered to get the full details.

"Anyway," Stefan continued. "When Jeremy died, Elena turned off her humanity, breaking the sire bond. I didn't exactly dump Rebekah, but she left me when she saw how much time I spent with Elena, trying to get her to turn it back on."

Throwing back his drink, Stefan continued. "In the mean time, Bonnie dipped into expression. She had been introduced to it when we were hunting for the cure. After you left Mystic Falls, she went on to study it further; she even spent time travelling with Caroline to get more information on it. She never thought she'd have to use it…"

As the story wore on, Klaus got more and more agitated. "Yes, yes. This is all very fascinating, but I fail to see why the Gilbert's death would warrant Caroline turning off her humanity."

Stefan glared at him. "Getting there. When Jeremy died and Elena lost it, Bonnie decided to use expression to bring him back, but to channel expression, she needed a triangle of sacrifices. She had the town fire, she had the location of your hybrid massacre, so she only needed one more."

Careful to see gauge his reaction, Stefan finished the story. "So she tricked Caroline into killing 12 witches to complete the triangle."

Klaus finished the story off for himself. "And the guilt ate at her, and she turned it off."

Stefan only nodded in response, sorry for the events that had occurred, turning his friend into a monster she never wanted to be.

"With her humanity turned off, Damon meant nothing to Elena so he couldn't help her. But I owed her too much to give up. Eventually, I was able to convince her to turn it on, and the love we once had was still there. Damon didn't want to be a part of that, so he focused his energy on bringing Bonnie back from the darkness."

Talking more to himself, Stefan mentioned, "They're a surprising combination, but Damon got through to Bonnie enough to make her give up on bringing back the dead."

Looking up at Klaus's face, frozen in contempt, Stefan felt for the original hybrid that had threatened his life and those he loved on numerous occasions.

"I brought Elena back, Damon took care of Bonnie, but nobody was there for Caroline."

Closing his eyes in regret, Stefan threw his head back onto the back of the armchair. "We didn't even notice she was slipping until it was too late."

For a moment the two sat in mutual disappointment of not being there for the girl they both cared for. The cackling of the fireplace filled the room as both men wallowed in their grief.

"Where has she been since?" Klaus asked quietly, breaking the silence.

Stefan lifted his head. "You don't know? I thought you kept tabs on her. That's how Rebekah and Kol made it seem."

"I did," Klaus admitted. "But then I realized she was running from me. She didn't want to be found. I believed she would come to me when she was ready, so I left her alone."

"You shouldn't have done that," Stefan said, getting up as his anger found another target. "Maybe then you would have known. Maybe then you could have helped her, did you ever think of that? This is _your_ fault! You were supposed to love her…"

"I did!" Klaus said, marching up to Stefan in his outrage. "I did love her! That's why I let her go…"

"That," Stefan said, shaking his head in disgust, "is some screwed up logic. I hope you realize that."

Klaus had to restrain himself from snapping his neck. But on some level, he understood the truth in those words.

Who Caroline became was _his _fault. He shouldn't have left her.

But then… he never did know how to love.

Rebekah was right. When she realized Klaus was in love with Caroline, she had predicted he would ruin it somehow.

"_You don't know what it means to be in love," _she had told him._ "You don't know about self-sacrifice, you don't know how to put the needs of somebody else before your own; you don't know how to live simply to bring happiness to another. You cannot love with the purity she does. You're going to fill her with darkness until she hates you… until you hate yourself."_

"What do I do now?" Klaus asked in a gravelly tone, filled with emotions of a broken man.

Stefan sighed. "Now you do nothing. Caroline didn't let us help her back then. She ran from us. She finally came to you, so all you can do is help keep her in place while Elena, Bonnie, Damon and I convince her to turn it back on again."

Putting a hand on Klaus's shoulder, he offered the only thing he could to the broken-hearted man that stood before him. "We'll bring the old Caroline back. That I can promise you. But what she decides from there is up to her."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, as Stefan seemed to dismiss him as any help in this venture. "I'm not leaving her this time, Ripper. So keep the platitudes to yourself."

"Klaus, you have to realize she may not want you. Not the real Caroline…"

Shoving off his hand, he answered, "She wanted me before she turned it off. She'll still want me."

Stefan didn't know if he was trying to convince him or himself. "I guess we'll see."

"See what?"

The two turned simultaneously towards her voice. Still clad in the peach robe, now tied securely around her waist, she stood staring mutinously at the two.

"Caroline…" Stefan whispered, feeling relief in seeing his friend after so long. She looked the same, but there was a bitterness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"What are you doing here, Stefan?"

Taking a cautious step forward, as if she would flee at any sudden movement, Stefan said, "I'm here to help you, Caroline. This isn't you. This isn't who you wanted to be. Elena and Bonnie are coming… you'll see just how it was supposed to be."

Caroline groaned in agitation. "But I'm not broken, _Saint Stefan. _You can't fix me."

"Let me try."

Seeing she was going to get nowhere with him, Caroline walked around to Klaus throwing her arms around his neck.

"Look at me Klaus," she coaxed. "I'm what you always wanted. What you had predicted I would be. And I want to be with you. Stefan wants to change all that. You won't let him, will you? You'll protect me, right?"

Klaus stared at the girl in his arms, before his eyes darted over to Stefan's pleading eyes.

One offered a life of decadent darkness.

The other, a painful path to the light that attracted him like a moth to a flame.

A pity he could only have one.

**So? Good? Bad? Like where this is going? Hate it? How about what happened with Caroline? Like it? Hate that I tied in the events of the show? And please don't hate me for bringing in Bamon. Those two are my babies, and I need it. So yes, that's going to stick.**

**_PLEASE_ review and let me know what you think of the story! I need the feedback to decide which direction I should go in with the rest of the story. Some of you don't think there's a future for these two, but I'm determined to prove you wrong ;)**

**There will be more old faces coming in to the story in the next few chapters. Who are you waiting to see?!**

**Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing in the past. This chapter was hell to get out on paper, but you guys kept me going :)**

**I also wrote a few drabbles on tumblr for Klaroline writing week. Would you guys like me to post them here on FF as well?**

**AND I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me in the Klaroline awards on tumblr! _Pieces of Your Heart_ won Best Romance Drabble! THANK YOU ALL SO FREAKING MUCH!**

**Now review! Any and all thoughts are welcome! Please and thank you :)**

**And if you could please, please, please let me know what your favorite line/part either from this chapter or anywhere in the entire story (starting from _Loved in Shades of Wrong_) was, I'd really appreciate it! Just want a survey of what you guys like. Do I have more fluffy readers, angst-loving readers, humor seeking readers, or just readers who will take Klaroline any way they can get them lol.**

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